EIB and Banco Santander Totta sign an agreement in support of SMEs and midcaps

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a EUR 200 million loan to Banco Santander Totta to finance small and medium-sized projects mainly undertaken by SMEs and midcaps. The loan agreement was signed in Lisbon today by EIB Vice-President Magdalena Álvarez and by the President of the Executive Committee of Banco Santander Totta, António Vieira Monteiro.

For SMEs in particular, access to credit has become difficult since the beginning of the crisis. Even medium-sized companies, the so-called midcaps with up to 3,000 employees, are faced with major funding challenges. The majority of the loan will therefore serve to finance investments promoted by SMEs and midcaps, but part of it could also be allocated to other entities promoting projects involving mainly energy saving, environmental protection, research and development, and infrastructure.

At the signing ceremony, Vice-President Magdalena Álvarez said: “Thanks to its cooperation with Banco Santander Totta, the EIB can channel new finance into Portugal’s productive sectors on favourable terms,with long maturities, flexible disbursement schedules and low interest rates. I am delighted to sign this loan, which represents a further step in the EIB’s commitment to supporting small and medium-sized businesses, as accessing credit is vital for SMEs to be able to get through this long economic crisis”.

President António Vieira Monteiro said: “We are delighted to sign this agreement with the EIB today. This credit line will be a financial tool that Banco Santander Totta can make available to Portuguese SMEs on favourable market terms. It enhances the scope of our financial and treasury support for SMEs, which we have so far provided through financial programmes for exporting companies and our own financing lines, enabling us to attain a leading position in PME Investe programmes”

The loan will have a positive impact on economic activity and will help to increase the productivity of the final beneficiaries. Most of the projects eligible for financing will be located in convergence areas in Portugal, so contributing to economic and social cohesion.